Education

The Education Sector at the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®) brings a leadership development resource to educational leaders to address the complexity involved in providing robust learning environments in K-12, college and university settings. CCL knows that schools’ leaders need specialized development.

CCL has a dedicated Education Sector staff, with extensive knowledge and background in education, both in the classroom and in administration. We are committed to supporting leaders to embrace change, build strong teams and successfully overcome organizational challenges they face in their educational communities. Our experience gives us a deep understanding of client context and an appreciation for every client’s unique needs.

The Center for Creative Leadership is a non-profit, educational institution engaged in a continuous cycle of turning ideas into action and action into ideas. We teach from our research and learn from our teaching. We act on what we learn by developing new views of leadership, new assessment techniques, programs and strategies responding to the evolving challenges faced by leaders and their organizations.

We believe self-knowledge is the most important factor in the practice of leadership. Becoming more acutely aware of one’s strengths and weaknesses is a type of “unfreezing” which leads to accurately setting goals and taking action to improve. we help leaders “learn how to learn” from colleagues, their organization and competition. Most importantly, we help leaders learn from their own experience.

We combine 360-degree feedback, individual assessment and personalized attention in a safe, confidential environment designed to encourage candor, self-examination and experimentation with new behaviors vital to development. Participants are pushed to explore their strengths and identify their development needs in special activities, breakout sessions and simulations that replicate real-world challenges without the real-world consequence of failure. The result is creative exploration, insight and experiential learning that has time and again helped inspire executives and managers to revitalize and focus their organizations. This feedback is frequently cited as the most valuable part of our programs.

Special Announcements

Results That Matter: How Businesses Are Helping to Change the Face of Education

It’s not rocket science. Making sure students achieve at the highest levels gives them the best foundation for success later in life. It also gives companies future access to a skilled workforce that’s essential for remaining competitive for years to come. With both those outcomes in mind, the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce partnered with CCL in 2011 to begin offering its school principals executive-level leadership training through The Kentucky Leadership Institute for School Principals. Since its inception, 158 principals from schools in 64 counties across Kentucky have graduated from the program.

The results are impressive. In a survey of Kentucky Leadership Institute alumni:

91% say their participation has made them more effective at influencing others to ensure student success.

89% say the program prepared them to lead effective school change.

93% say that as a result of their training, they’re able to achieve more positive outcomes for students, schools, and community.

Selected Clients:

Denver Public Schools • Forsyth Technical Community College • Kentucky Chamber of Commerce • Norfolk Public Schools • Ocean County College • Ohio Public Schools • Princeton University • South Carolina Department of Education • University of Alaska • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill • University of North Carolina at Greensboro • Vance Granville Community College • Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Empowering Leaders through Opportunity

The world’s leadership can and should reflect the diverse communities in which we live and work. Acting on this belief, CCL extends leadership development opportunities to leaders who typically cannot access our traditional fee-for-service programs — leaders that nevertheless — can and do make a difference.

The Center for Creative Leadership is a top-ranked global provider of executive education that develops better leaders through its exclusive focus on leadership education and research.

Founded in 1970 as a nonprofit, educational institution, CCL helps clients worldwide cultivate creative leadership — the capacity to achieve more than imagined by thinking and acting beyond boundaries — through an array of programs, products and other services. CCL established the Education and Nonprofit sector in 1988 to meet the unique needs of education and nonprofit organizations. Our objective is to help organizations build their leadership capacity and make a true, sustainable difference. The sector’s clients are organizations that impact the communities where we live and work, as well as broader society.

Case & Impact Studies:

Meet Our Team

Karen M. Dyer
Group Director, Education and Nonprofit Sector

Karen M. Dyer is the Group Director of the Education and Nonprofit Sector for the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL). In this role she works primarily with nonprofit, K-12 educational leaders, and college and university academic and administrative senior leaders in accessing CCL’s portfolio of programs, products, and services. Karen is also a facilitator for Women’s Leadership and other CCL custom designed programs.

Dr. Dyer is the co – author of the book, The Intuitive Principal as well as several articles and modules on leadership. Karen holds a Bachelors degree from the University of California, Berkeley, a Masters of Education degree from Holy Names College in Oakland, California, and a Doctorate in Education Administration from the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California.

Deborah Friedman
Manager, Education Sector

Deborah serves as the Manager, Education Sector for the Center for Creative Leadership. In this role, she works primarily with higher education and K-12 administrators in accessing CCL’s portfolio of leadership programs, products, and services. She was lead author for the CCL Press guidebook “Influence for Nonprofit Leaders”.

Dr. Friedman has served in various higher education roles including president, vice-president, academic dean and faculty member. As a college president, she developed numerous collaborative links with higher education institutions and K-12 schools for delivery of academic programs. Her experience in business and industry prior to entering the field of education resulted in her building education partnerships with the private sector. Over her career, she has served in numerous leadership roles with civic organizations.

Dr. Friedman received her Doctorate of Education from North Carolina State University, Master of Business Administration from the University of Toledo, and a Bachelor of Science from Central Michigan University. Experienced in designing and delivering leadership training initiatives, she also serves as a guest speaker for community and professional organizations.

Shera Clark
Manager, Nonprofit Sector

Dr. Shera Clark currently serves as the Manager, Nonprofit Sector for the Center for Creative Leadership. Dr. Clark works extensively in developing the Center’s Nonprofit Sector. Her experience includes business development, account management, and the design and delivery of customized leadership development solutions for corporate, education, and nonprofit sectors. She has managed several multi-year and multi-session Leadership Development Initiatives involving hundreds of participants. In addition she has several years of group facilitation experience in leadership development initiatives, including Maximizing Your Leadership Potential, Leadership Development Program, the African-American Leadership Program, and a variety of CCL custom programs. Dr. Clark is also a certified CCL Executive Coach. She authored the guidebook “Feedback that Works for Nonprofit Organizations”. Dr. Clark has written a chapter “Action Learning with Community-Based Nonprofits” which appears in the book entitled Experience-Driven Leader Development.

Dr. Clark holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. She has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Master of Science in Adult Education, and a Ph.D. in Leadership Studies.

Michael DePass
Faculty Member

Michaels serves as a Faculty member in the Education and Nonprofit Group. He primarily works with leaders of K-12 schools and systems, and nonprofit leaders across all sectors.

Michael has served in various education sector roles including: principal evaluator, regional director, executive director, and new school developer. Prior to working in K-12 education, Michael was a management consultant for McKinsey & Company and held roles including Assistant Director and Chief Administrative Officer in inner-city and international development organizations.

Michael received his Masters of Business Administration degree from Harvard University, Bachelor of Arts degree in Liberal Arts from University of Virginia, and a second Bachelor of Theology degree from Hope Bible College.

Greg Cameron
Faculty Member

Greg serves as a faculty member for the Center for Creative Leadership. As a member of the Education and Nonprofit Group, he primarily works with leaders of K-12 schools and systems, and nonprofit leaders across all sectors.

Greg has an extensive background in education and nonprofit leadership effectiveness, appraisal, and program design, development, and delivery. He is an experienced K-12 educational leader and principal. He served as the Executive Director of the Center of Educator Effectiveness for McREL International and as a partner at Learning Crest before joining CCL. In these roles he was the lead developer of rigorously tested leadership programs and appraisal systems utilized by thousands of educational leaders in the US and Australia. As an ASCD faculty member, he has authored and co-authored over 20 educational leadership focused publications, including personnel appraisal systems, training manuals, articles, and books.

Greg received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Colorado; a Master of Arts degree from the University of Denver; and completed two post graduate programs in education from the University of Colorado at Denver.

Jonnette O’Callaghan is a Senior Project Manager for the Education/Nonprofit Sector. As Senior Project Manager she handles all program logistics including budgets, client management, program materials and participant needs. Prior to coming to the Center for Creative Leadership, Jonnette taught history at Caldwell Academy. She has a Bachelors of Arts in History from The University of Texas in Austin.

Kristen Newman
Sr. Project Manager, Education & Nonprofit Sectors

Kristen Newman is a Senior Project Manager for the Education/Nonprofit Sector. As Senior Project Manager she handles all program logistics including budgets, client management, program materials and participant needs. Kristen has worked for the Center for Creative Leadership for four years in various roles and groups across the organization. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a Master of Arts degree in Organizational Leadership from Regent University.

Emaya Rajasengran
Sr. Project Manager, Education & NonProfit Sectors

Emaya Rajasegran is a Senior Project Manager with the Education/Nonprofit Sector. As Senior Project Manager she handles all project management responsibilities such as client management and relationship, program logistics, budgeting, program and coaching preparation and assisting participants with their program needs.

Before joining this team, Emaya worked as a Program Manager in the APAC office, located in Singapore. In her role, she handled both regional and global clients. Prior to rejoining CCL, she worked as an Intercultural Program Specialist in a global relocation consultancy, helping to organize cross cultural programs, both regional and global, for clients who relocate their staff.

Emaya holds a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication from Oklahoma City University.

Client Quotes & Testimonies

“We want to make a difference by empowering school principals. We researched training programs around the country and we decided on CCL because its focus is the individual. CCL has a track record of working with education leaders and monitoring results.”

– Dave Adkisson, President and CEO, Kentucky Chamber Commerce

“The decision to engage the Center for Creative Leadership as the centerpiece for our organization’s new Professional Development Program proved to be an excellent one. To a person, the 24 participants gave the program excellent reviews and several believe it was the single best professional growth opportunity that they have experienced during their career. CCL will be our partner in future programs.”

– Victoria J. Ridge, Director of Organizational Development and Planning for Facilities Princeton University

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